A feel and a taste of home.

That’s what Singaporeans from Down Under were treated to at the Singapore Day 2008 in Melbourne, Australia.

Greeting Singaporeans and Australian friends who pre-registered for this event, on Oct 4, were free goodie bags containing creature comforts like picnic mats, binoculars, Wet Ones® wipes, Yeo’s drinks as well as our country’s pride NEWater to keep everyone fresh and happy.

“I love (heart) SG” shirts were also given out to volunteers, much to their delight.

Michelle Tng Ying, 20, a Singaporean student studying at the University of Melbourne, was on site at the event to tell UrbanWire what went on at the Singapore Day 2008 in Melbourne. Check out Michelle’s rundown of her day here.

According to Michelle, the event definitely looked to be a ‘huge success’ with the large turnout on the smooth grassy lawns of the Sidney Myer Music Bowl outdoor performance venue, which can easily accommodate up to 30,000 people.

It was certainly a day of fun and entertainment, as well as a day of feasting on good old homely and much-missed food like chilli crab, bak chor mee [minced meat flat noodles], roti prata [hand tossed, pan fried pancake] and nasi lemak[coconut-flavoured rice with condiments]. The range of food available were spread out and named after 4 very familiar eating haunts: Newton Circus, Clarke Quay, Rocester Park and Dempsey Hill.

If you’re curious about what sort of food attendees were treated to at the event, Michelle tells us that they had chow that was close to every Singaporean’s hearts:

Newton Circus: Ice Kachang[syrup-coloured shaved ice], Chendol[coconut-milk and brown sugar ice dessert], Hainanese mixed curry rice, Bak Chor Mee, Bak Kut Teh[pork rib soup]

Clarke Quay: Mee Siam[tamarind-tinged vermicelli], Mee Soto[Malay noodle soup], Roti Prata, Briyani[basmati rice cooked slowly with spices], Ah Wok Chilli Crab, Laksa[fat rice noodles in a coconut milk gravy]

Dempsey Hill: Claypot rice, Spaghetti and Nasi Lemak

Rochester Park: Kaya [coconut jam] Toast with traditional coffee and tea, Hokkien Mee[yellow and white noodles fried with lard and seafood], Char Kuay Teow[fried broad rice noodles], Chicken Rice, BBQ Wings and Satay [grilled skewers of meat]

The free food was cooked and served on the spot ‘exactly like hawker centres’ and with such tempting fare available at a home away from home, it was inevitable that long and well-ordered queues, that Singaporeans are famed for, formed.

In fact, it looked like almost an hour’s worth of queueing. We were sure that would have been a thumbs down for the impatient but it really turns out that most Singaporeans just couldn’t bring themselves to miss out on possibly the one chance in a really long while to sink their teeth in the authentic fare.

Apart from a special exhibition to showcase the ever-changing landscape and developments happening in Singapore and the National Service’s 40th Anniversary showcase, the crowds enjoyed live performances. And who better to provide entertainment for the event than our homegrown artistes who flew down specially for the occasion?

Asian Idol and Singapore Idol 2006 winner Hady Mirza, the cast of the popular local sitcom Phua Chu Kang; Gurmit Singh (Phua Chu Kang), Irene Ang (Rosie), Tan Kheng Hua (Margaret), Marcus Ng (Aloysius) were flown there to bring live entertainment and laughter to the crowds. Dick Lee, the Creative Director for the Singapore Day 2008 was also present to give a performance to fans among the crowds.

Home and Back Again – By Michelle Tng Ying

Here’s a proud Singaporean on her day at home, away from home.

The more we get together: Michelle (second from right) with friends at the Singapore Day 2008.
 

10 am: Oh dear, it’s already 10 and I’m still not ready to go.

The first thought that pops into my mind is, “I shall not be kiasu. I shall not be kiasu.” I have to admit, though, that throughout the week, I’d been looking forward to a day where I’ll be guilt-free using Singlish, and Singapore food will fill the cravings of my home-sick stomach. And most of all, I was looking forward to have a piece of home in this home away from home.

11 am: It’s a beautiful day for walking. A little chilly, but sunny nonetheless.

My Singaporean friend Davis and I had a sense of being cheated by the weather forecast which had predicted that it would be rainy and wet today.

11:30 am: We arrive at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.

Davis and I reach the end of a queue and both of us begin to wonder what the queue is for. Like any other Singaporean, we joined the snaking line and hoped that we were in for something good. “Just line up and see lor”, we thought.

Upon making a few phone calls to our friends who were volunteers for the event, we found out that we were indeed in the queue to get into the main arena where all the food, fun and freebies were. We also found out that people had already started queueing since 9:30am to get in early to eat. This was certainly the mark of true blue (editor: or red) Singaporeans.

12 nn: We were finally in the midst of everything after half an hour. For this, we were duly rewarded with goodie bags and the delicious smell of authentic Singaporean cuisine.

“So happening!”, I thought, feeling a bubble of excitement. 

Shortly after redeeming our goodie bags, Davis and I decided to find some of our friends who had found a picnic spot on the grass. We hastened to reach them because they already had their fill of Singaporean food, something which we were so looking forward to.

It took us all of 20 minutes to get across to where they were, and along the way, we were delighted to meet many old friends as well as to make new acquaintances. Interestingly, I noted that there were many Singaporeans who actually made the effort to come all decked in red and white; some even donned traditional national costumes and school uniforms.

12.30 pm: Davis and I have decided that the chicken rice, hokkien mee and char kuay teow looked the most appetising and joined the massively long queue which stretched from the stalls and snaked all the way round the barricaded food area.

Of course, while waiting, we met many friends who were queuing as well, so it was a good time to catch up on each other’s lives while the hot Australian sun burned into our skins.

1.30pm: We were considerably closer to the food, and the aroma of fried food made us feel increasingly impatient. It was a long wait and even though I was this close to walking out of the queue, the idea of tucking into authentic chicken rice kept me staying in the queue.

2 pm: Nearly there, we are pretty sure we could feel the smooth, succulent chicken, fragrant rice and mouth-watering chilli sauce sliding down our throats already.

2.30 pm: Finally, we were seated very contentedly on the grass with our servings of chicken rice and hokkien mee that came with extra large prawns.

3 pm: The ice kachang when eaten here, was definitely at its best, suiting the sunny weather today. While we enjoyed the sweet icy dessert, we chilled out to the music belted out by Electrico, Dick Lee and other local acts. There was also an act by the popular cast members of Phua Chu Kang, it was definitely funny and familiar.

4 pm: It was getting late and a little chilly as the day started drawing to an end.

Already, the crowds are thinning out and we heard that there was a surplus of food. Of course the boys were the first ones to volunteer to ‘help’ the char kuay teow and hokkien mee stall vendors to finish up whatever was left.

4.30 pm: We were very happy with our stash of freebies, which includes food stuff like the premade Yeo’s satay sauce and nasi goreng paste, non-edibles like pins for us to show our patriotism at the next Singapore event, as well as Mr Miyagi comic books and tee-shirts.

We were all exhausted from the long day of queues and never ending socialising and many couldn’t wait to finally head back for a good rest from the excitement of the day.

Still, despite our tired selves, we felt like we had been home.

 

UrbanWire thanks Michelle for sharing her experience and photographs from the Singapore Day 2008 with us. Do you have an experience, photos or videos to share? Send us your comments and share with us what you liked best about the day.

If you’re kicking yourself for missing both Singapore Day 2007 in New York, and Melbourne this year, secure your piece of home next year, by voting your town in as the next venue to host Singapore Day here. 

All pictures are copyright of Michelle Tng Ying.